Microsoft gets a patent win against Motorola

SOFTWARE HOUSE Microsoft has won a victory against Motorola over alleged patent infringement in Android.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Motorola Mobility infringes Microsoft patents that cover the use of mobile scheduling and meeting tools that appear in Motorola Mobility's Android devices.

This is an initial ruling and is just one of many accusations thrown at Motorola by Microsoft in August last year.

"We have a responsibility to our employees, customers, partners and shareholders to safeguard our intellectual property," said David Howard, Microsoft corporate VP and deputy general counsel for litigation at the time. "Motorola is infringing our patents and we are confident that the ITC will rule in our favor."

This is the second time that the ITC has sided against the Android operating system and yesterday it ruled that HTC is infringing an Apple patent.

Like HTC, Motorola Mobility was glad that it was found to be infringing only a small number of patent claims.

"We are very pleased that the majority of the rulings were favorable to Motorola Mobility," said Scott Offer, SVP and general counsel at Motorola Mobility in a statement. "The initial determination may provide clarity on the definition of the Microsoft 566 patent for which a violation was found and will help us avoid infringement of this patent in the U.S. market."

Patent litigation is part of the mobile world we live in, so we can expect more of the same in 2012. µ